Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan to be released on bail
1 min read . Updated: 01 Feb 2023, 05:00 PM IST
PremiumSiddique Kappan was supposed to be freed on January 31 after serving two years in prison for a money-laundering offence.
Siddique Kappan will now be released on bail after the Lucknow Sessions Judge issued the decision. The journalist from Kerala was incarcerated for over two years. In December 2022, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court granted Kappan bail in the case brought by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Kappan, who was supposed to be freed on January 31 after serving two years in prison for a money-laundering offence, had to wait longer as a result of the Lucknow district court's lawyers' strike delaying the completion of his necessary paperwork.
The Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and the Information Technology (IT) Act all resulted in charges being filed against the journalist. ED later arrested him in connection with the PMLA case. In connection with the Hathras case, the Supreme Court granted him bail in September. But, due to ED's money-laundering case, he remained behind bars.
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Kappan's attorney Ishan Baghel earlier claimed that there was a delay in authenticating the two sureties for ₹1 lakh that he was required to submit before being granted bail. The sureties could not, however, be submitted in court after being vetted on Tuesday due to the lawyers' strike.
“The high court had granted bail to Kappan on December 23. His two sureties of ₹1 lakh each could not be verified on time," Baghel said.
“Now, after both the sureties have been verified, these could not be submitted in court today due to a boycott by the lawyers in the district court. He will be released whenever the court resumes business," he added.
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Earlier in January, the FIR that Lucknow police had against two lawyers in an accident case prompted the strike on January 31.
On October 5, 2020, Kappan and three other people were detained at the Mathura toll plaza in Uttar Pradesh while en route to cover up the gang rape and murder of a Dalit lady in Hathras town. The accused, according to the police, were aiming to undermine local law and order and were active members of the Popular Front of India (PFI), a group that has since been outlawed.
